THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, March 7: A massive re-look at the buildings which house polling booths is on in Palamu.
There are 1,796 polling booths in government buildings.
Now, the status and condition of the buildings are again being re-verified to eliminate any possibility of a building not being found fit for housing a polling booth.
If any building with a polling booth is found unfit, voters of that booth are to visit the newer location of their booths.
Shifting of polling booths
Nodal officer of the postal ballot cell A K Tiwary, who is SDM Sadar Daltonganj, said, “For any shifting of polling booth from one government building to the nearest government building in the wake of the previous building found improper or unfit, the voters of that particular booth are to be taken into confidence by telling them the reasons of shifting which is mostly in the context of the safety of the voters and polling parties and for no other reason.”
The state chief electoral officer has asked district election officers to submit reports on re-verified or re-looked-at polling booths by March 9.
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ECI to take final call
The district administration can propose shifting the building/polling booth, but the ECI will make the final decision.
Shifting the booths is not the administration’s cup of tea. First, the administration must gain the confidence of the political parties and explain why shifting is to be done. Political parties normally trust the explanation preferred by the administration.
Suitability of buildings
Sources said there might be a couple of shifts of polling booths due to the suitability of the buildings that previously housed them.
The respective BDOs and COs will sit with the voters there, ensuring no inconvenience if the polling booths shift from another 500 meters to another 1000 meters.
No compromise with facilities
There will be no compromise with the AMFs (assured minimum facilities) at the polling booths.
The shifting, although entirely notional, is not due to voters exceeding the 1500 upper limit of booths but to the conditions or status of the building.
There is no polling booth in Palamu that touches the upper limit of 1500 voters, but it is well within the upper cap of 1500 voters per booth.
